Ravaged

Eternal Guardians, Book Eight

Ari — Once an Eternal Guardian, now he’s nothing but a rogue mercenary with one singular focus: revenge.

His guardian brothers all think he’s dead, but Ari is very much alive in the human realm, chipping away at Zeus’s Sirens every chance he can, reveling in his brutality and anonymity. Until, that is, he abducts the wrong female and his identity is finally exposed. It will take more than the Eternal Guardians, more even than the gods to rein Ari in after everything he’s done. It may just take the courage of one woman willing to stand up to a warrior who’s become a savage.

Ari — Once an Eternal Guardian, now he’s nothing but a rogue mercenary with one singular focus: revenge.

His guardian brothers all think he’s dead, but Ari is very much alive in the human realm, chipping away at Zeus’s Sirens every chance he can, reveling in his brutality and anonymity. Until, that is, he abducts the wrong female and his identity is finally exposed. It will take more than the Eternal Guardians, more even than the gods to rein Ari in after everything he’s done. It may just take the courage of one woman willing to stand up to a warrior who’s become a savage.

Read an Excerpt

Daphne darted a look between Zeus and Athena, sure she had to have heard them wrong. “What you need from me?”

Athena shot a frustrated look at Zeus, but the king of the gods didn’t bother to glance the goddess’s way. “We’re in need of a Siren with your talents to complete a mission for us. Are you interested?”

Daphne had no idea what kind of mission they were talking about, but something in her gut said never to say no to the king of the gods. “Yes, of course.”

“She’s too naïve,” Athena mumbled.

“That’s exactly why we’re going to use her.” Zeus’s eyes flashed. “You’ve heard of the rogue Argonaut loose in the human realm? The one they call Ari?”

Daphne’s mind skipped over snippets of gossip she’d heard from her Siren sisters. “We all have. He’s a monster.”

“Yes, he is.” Zeus’s jaw clenched. “A very dangerous monster that needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, our conventional attempts at dealing with him have not worked. Which is where you come in. We want to send you in undercover to terminate him for the Order.”

Daphne stared at the god for several seconds, sure she had to have heard him
wrong. “Me? But I-I’m not even a Siren yet. I haven’t taken my final vows. I’m—”

“You are a nymph. A voluptuous, alluring nymph, like your mother. Aristokles has but one weakness: sexy, vulnerable nymphs. You will pretend to be in jeopardy, let him take you back to his lair, and when he least expects it, kill him.”

Daphne’s heart beat hard, and her hands grew sweaty. This was a suicide mission. She’d heard horror stories about the crazed Argonaut and what he liked to do to Sirens. “But…my king…he tortures and kills Sirens. I’ll not make it past—”

“You are not a full Siren yet,” Athena cut in. “You have not been inducted, you do not bear the marking, and because of your nymph heritage, your body was never altered. He will not sense that you are a Siren, because you are not one…yet.”

“If you succeed in this mission, however,” Zeus added, “you will be inducted immediately upon your return. Regardless of your marksmanship scores.”

Daphne’s pulse roared in her head. This was her chance to belong. To finally be one of them. Her stomach swirled with excitement and apprehension. “Wh-what would I need to do?”

“Kill him, of course,” Zeus answered. “But before you do that, I need confirmation of something. I suspect the Argonaut has a very special marking on his body. Not the Argonaut markings on his forearms. This is something else. Before he’s terminated, I need you to search his entire body and either prove or disprove the appearance of the marking.”

“What kind of marking?” Daphne asked.

Zeus glanced toward Athena. A silent look passed between the two gods before Zeus refocused on Daphne. “We’re not sure. But the marking disappears at the time of death, so you cannot kill him and then look for it. You must find it while he is alive.”

So all she had to do was get close enough to the mass-murdering psycho to check every inch of his skin for some unknown marking. Yeah. That sounded easy.

Not.

“I-I’m not sure how I would do that,” Daphne said hesitantly.

“This is where your nymph background comes in handy.” Zeus lifted his brows in a “duh, it’s easy” move. “Use your seduction skills. Charm him. Get him to drop his guard. Earn his trust so he least suspects your mission.”

A whir echoed in Daphne’s ears. “You don’t mean—”

“Yes, you’ll have to screw him,” Athena said. “Probably several times.” An irritated expression crossed the goddess’s face. “You sailed through seduction training, Daphne. This shouldn’t be that difficult for you.”

Unease rippled through Daphne. She’d only been twenty when she’d been plucked from her foster home and brought to Olympus to train with the Sirens. Barely old enough to come into her sexuality, and the males she’d fooled around with as a teenager didn’t count. Yes, she’d made it through seduction training easily, but only because she’d had an amazing instructor, a minor god who hadn’t forced her. One who’d taken plenty of time to teach her about her own body and the powers of sex. That didn’t mean she had any real experience seducing males—she’d been here for seven years, for crying out loud. And she had zero experience with savages like the psycho Argonaut Aristokles.

“We need an answer,” Zeus said. “Either you are with us—”

“Or you are without us,” Athena finished.

Daphne’s gaze slid from one god to the other. She knew what they were saying. Either she did this and became a full-fledged Siren, or she didn’t and was banished from the Order forever.

“Well?” Zeus asked.

Sickness rolled through her stomach. Her small village in Thrace was gone. Her parents long dead. She had no family left, no home, nothing to turn to if she lost the Sirens. Which meant she had to make this work.

Swallowing back the fear, Daphne nodded and prayed she made it through this alive. “I’ll do it.”

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About the Series

As unrest in the Underworld threatens, seven warriors descended from the greatest heroes in all of Ancient Greece may just be mankind’s last hope.

If you love mythology, action, adventure, suspense and romance, this is the series for you.

Other Books in the Eternal Guardians series
Click on the covers to read more.

Marked

Book One

Entwined

Book Two

Tempted

Book Three

Enraptured

Book Four

Enslaved

Book Five

Bound

Book Six

Twisted

Book Seven

Awakened

Book Nine

Unchained

Book Ten

Hunted

Book Eleven

Wicked

Book Twelve

Praise

“Ms. Naughton packs a punch with this novella. A terrific installment in this series.”
—Straight Shootin Book Reviews“This novella alone turned me into a fan and I cannot WAIT to start this entire series.”
—Read-Love-Blog

“Heartbreaking, passionate, and exciting.”
—The Reading Cafe

“RAVAGED had the perfect mix of everything that makes a book great!”
—Boundless Book Reviews

“I love these Eternal Guardians! Sure, we call the male leads in a romance the hero, but these guys are really HEROES. And they are so wonderfully vivid!”
—The Window Seat on a Rainy Day

“Packed with action, words steaming right off the pages, and an interesting world surrounding equally interesting characters.”
—Reviews by Ruckie

“RAVAGED simply ravaged me. I was mesmerized and immediately attracted to the world of the gods and goddesses and Argonauts that Elisabeth Naughton has created.”
—Coffee Book Mom

“RAVAGED is an amazing read and I can’t wait to see what Elisabeth has planned next. I love her writing. I hope the Guardians continue on for a long time to come.”
—Krissy’s Bookshelf Reviews

“For a novella, RAVAGED packs quite a punch. Ms. Naughton highlights what Greek mythology is famous for: romance, passion, deceit, betrayal and death. And as always, the gods are not done with their games.”
—The Sassy Bookster

“RAVAGED is an exciting and creative novella worthy of Eternal Guardians Series.”
—Diane’s Book Blog

“The novella was great. The ties to Greek Mythology and the story of the Gods and Goddesses drew me in immediately.”
—Evermore Books

“The story is filled with love, action, steam, friends and family as Ari and Daphne navigate the minefield of going up against Zeus and sorting fact from fiction. Events toward the end of the story had my jaw dropping and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series to see how everything unfolds in the aftermath.”
—Oh My Growing TBR

“For a short book, it gave me a complete serving of entertainment. The story and the conflict was interesting. I even wish this book was longer because I didn’t want it to end.”
—Sultry Steamy Reading

“You don’t need to have read the other books to enjoy this one, but we expect those who are already hooked on Naughton’s work will want to devour it.”
—Vampire Book Club

“This was a nice quick read that had me turning the pages as fast as I could in order to find out what happened next. It’s worth the one-click I promise!”
—Books Need TLC